Substrate processing device and alignment method for transfer arm

Abstract

To appropriately align a transfer arm in a processing chamber.SOLUTION: A substrate processing device for processing a substrate comprises: a transfer module in which the substrate is transferred; a transfer arm disposed inside of the transfer module and including at least one holding arm which holds the substrate; and a processing module connected to the transfer module and including a processing chamber in which the substrate is processed. The processing chamber includes: a substrate support part including a support surface of the substrate; a plate member disposed at an upper side of the substrate support part; and a sidewall part constituting an inside surface of the processing chamber. A processing space enclosed by the substrate support part, the plate member and the sidewall part is formed in the processing chamber, and the transfer arm includes a sensor which aligns the transfer arm on the basis of distances to the substrate support part, the plate member and the sidewall part in the processing space.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a method for aligning a transport arm. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for setting the position of a substrate transfer machine in semiconductor manufacturing equipment using a reflective distance detection sensor. The semiconductor substrate position detection device disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a jig with a pin attached vertically from the center of a plate with the same shape as the semiconductor substrate, and a reflective distance detection sensor. The reflective distance detection sensor detects the side of the jig, reads the vertical position of the semiconductor substrate, and then detects the center of the pin to detect the left-right angular position of the substrate transfer machine and the distance to the pin. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-74229 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The techniques disclosed herein provide proper alignment of a transfer arm within a processing chamber. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a transfer module for transferring the substrate therein; a transfer arm disposed inside the transfer module and having at least one holding arm for holding the substrate; and a processing module connected to the transfer module and having a processing chamber for processing the substrate therein, the processing chamber including a substrate support having a support surface for the substrate, a plate member disposed above the substrate support, and a sidewall portion constituting an inner surface of the processing chamber, the processing chamber including a processing space surrounded by the substrate support portion, the plate member, and the sidewall portion, the processing chamber including a processing space surrounded by the substrate support portion, the plate member, and the sidewall portion, the processing chamber including a processing space surrounded by the substrate support portion, the plate member, and the sidewall portion, the processing space being surrounded by the substrate support portion, the plate member, and the sidewall portion, and the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a transfer module for transferring the substrate therein; Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to the present disclosure, the transfer arm can be properly aligned within the processing chamber. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing an outline of a configuration of a wafer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a transport arm of a transfer module. [Diagram 3] 11 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the configuration of the effector during alignment. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an alignment method in a processing module. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an alignment method in a processing module. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the rotation direction of a sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, a step is performed in which an oxide film formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "wafer") is removed by etching. For example, the oxide film etching step is performed by a COR (Chemical Oxide Removal) process and a PHT (Post Heat Treatment) process.

[0009] In a substrate processing system, the COR process and the PHT process may be performed in different processing modules, and in order to properly process the wafer in each processing module, it is necessary to accurately deliver the wafer to an appropriate position on a mounting table, etc. For this reason, a task called teaching (also called alignment) is performed in which the transfer position of the wafer on the mounting table, etc. is stored as a target position as position coordinates on the transfer arm that transports the wafer to the processing module.

[0010] The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 discloses that the position detection of the semiconductor substrate is automatically performed using a jig and a sensor, which is said to reduce the teaching work time and improve the work efficiency and performance.

[0011] However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the semiconductor substrate position is detected two-dimensionally (e.g., in the XY plane direction), and teaching is not performed three-dimensionally (e.g., in the XYZ spatial direction). In recent years, it has become known that in processing modules, members included in the chamber, such as the substrate support (also called a stage) and the shower plate, are configured to be freely movable. Until now, the displacement of the substrate support and the shower plate has been adjusted according to the process conditions of each process, such as the COR process and the PHT process, and there is a risk of differences occurring between different types of equipment or between multiple processing modules in the same equipment. In addition, there is also the issue that the process startup period increases due to the adjustment.

[0012] In the processing modules of recent substrate processing systems, even if a wafer is placed at the center of the stage, the process results are affected by gas flow and heat from the side walls of the chamber, so mounting errors including the height direction of each component such as the stage and shower plate have a significant effect on the process. Therefore, in order to transport the wafer to the optimal position in the process space, it is necessary to guide the transport arm to an arbitrary teaching position in the three-dimensional space inside the processing chamber.

[0013] The technology disclosed herein has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and appropriately aligns a transfer arm in a processing chamber. Hereinafter, a wafer processing apparatus and an alignment method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification and the drawings, elements having substantially the same functional configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0014] <Wafer processing equipment> First, the configuration of the wafer processing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of the configuration of the wafer processing apparatus according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, a case will be described in which the wafer processing apparatus 1 includes processing modules for performing substrate processing, cleaning processing, and aligner processing on a wafer W as a substrate. Note that the module configuration of the wafer processing apparatus 1 of the present disclosure is not limited to this, and may be selected arbitrarily. In this specification, the width direction of the wafer processing apparatus 1 may be illustrated and described as the X-axis direction, the longitudinal direction as the Y-axis direction, and the height direction as the Z-axis direction.

[0015] 1, the wafer processing apparatus 1 has an atmospheric section 10 and a reduced pressure section 11 that are integrally connected via load lock modules 20a and 20b. The atmospheric section 10 includes a plurality of atmospheric modules that perform desired processing on the wafer W in an atmospheric pressure atmosphere. The reduced pressure section 11 includes a plurality of reduced pressure modules that perform desired processing on the wafer W in a reduced pressure atmosphere.

[0016] The load lock module 20a temporarily holds the wafer W transferred from a loader module 30 (described later) in the atmospheric section 10, in order to deliver the wafer W to a transfer module 60 (described later) in the decompression section 11. The load lock module 20a has an upper stocker 21a and a lower stocker 22a that hold two wafers W in the vertical direction.

[0017] The load lock module 20a is connected to a loader module 30 (described later) via a gate 24a provided with a gate valve 23a. This gate valve 23a ensures airtightness between the load lock module 20a and the loader module 30 while allowing communication between them. The load lock module 20a is also connected to a transfer module 60 (described later) via a gate 26a provided with a gate valve 25a. This gate valve 25a ensures airtightness between the load lock module 20a and the transfer module 60 while allowing communication between them.

[0018] An air supply section (not shown) for supplying gas and an exhaust section (not shown) for exhausting gas are connected to the load lock module 20a, and the interior is configured to be switchable between atmospheric pressure and reduced pressure atmosphere by the air supply section and the exhaust section. That is, the load lock module 20a is configured to appropriately transfer the wafer W between the atmospheric section 10 of the atmospheric pressure atmosphere and the reduced pressure section 11 of the reduced pressure atmosphere.

[0019] The load lock module 20b has the same configuration as the load lock module 20a, that is, the load lock module 20b has an upper stocker 21b, a lower stocker 22b, a gate valve 23b and a gate 24b on the loader module 30 side, and a gate valve 25b and a gate 26b on the transfer module 60 side.

[0020] The number and arrangement of the load lock modules 20a, 20b are not limited to those in this embodiment, but may be set arbitrarily.

[0021] The atmospheric section 10 has a loader module 30 equipped with a wafer transport mechanism 40 described later, a load port 32 on which a FOUP 31 capable of storing multiple wafers W is placed, a wafer cleaning module 33 that removes fluorine from the wafer W, and an aligner module 34 that adjusts the horizontal orientation of the wafer W.

[0022] The loader module 30 as a wafer W transport device is made up of a rectangular housing, and the inside of the housing is maintained at atmospheric pressure. A plurality of, for example, three load ports 32 are arranged side by side on one side constituting the long side of the housing of the loader module 30. Load lock modules 20a, 20b are arranged side by side on the other side constituting the long side of the housing of the loader module 30. An atmospheric substrate processing device (for example, a wafer cleaning module, a wafer cooling module, an optical film thickness measuring device, etc.) 33 may be provided on one side constituting the short side of the housing of the loader module 30. An aligner module 34 is provided on the other side constituting the short side of the housing of the loader module 30.

[0023] The number and arrangement of the load ports 32 and the aligner modules 34 are not limited to those in this embodiment and may be arbitrarily designed. For example, a plurality of wafer cleaning modules 33 may be provided on both sides of the load lock modules 20a and 20b.

[0024] The FOUP 31 accommodates a plurality of wafers W, for example, 25 wafers W per lot, stacked in multiple stages at equal intervals. The inside of the FOUP 31 placed on the load port 32 is filled with, for example, air or nitrogen gas and is sealed.

[0025] The atmospheric substrate processing apparatus 33 may cool the wafer W after the COR process or the PHT process, and may measure the film thickness of the wafer W before and after the COR process.

[0026] The aligner module 34 adjusts the horizontal orientation by rotating the wafer W. Specifically, when performing wafer processing on each of the multiple wafers W, the aligner module 34 adjusts the wafer W so that the horizontal orientation from a reference position (e.g., notch position) is the same for each wafer processing.

[0027] A wafer transfer mechanism 40 that transfers the wafer W is provided inside the loader module 30. The wafer transfer mechanism 40 has a transfer arm 41 (41a, 41b) that moves while holding the wafer W, a rotating table 42 that rotatably supports the transfer arm 41, and a rotating placement table 43 on which the rotating table 42 is mounted. The wafer transfer mechanism 40 is configured to be movable in the longitudinal direction inside the housing of the loader module 30.

[0028] The depressurization section 11 has a transfer module 60 which simultaneously transports two wafers W, a substrate processing module 61 which performs, for example, COR processing on the wafer W transported from the transfer module 60, and a substrate processing module 62 which performs, for example, PHT processing on the wafer W transported from the transfer module 60. The interiors of the transfer module 60, the substrate processing module 61, and the substrate processing module 62 are each maintained in a depressurized atmosphere. A plurality of substrate processing modules 61 and substrate processing modules 62, for example, three each, are provided for the transfer module 60.

[0029] The transfer module 60 has an internal rectangular housing, and is connected to the load lock modules 20a and 20b via the gate valves 25a and 25b as described above. The transfer module 60 has an internal rectangular housing, and transfers the wafer W loaded into the load lock module 20a to one substrate processing module 61 and one substrate processing module 62 in sequence, where the wafer W is subjected to, for example, COR processing and PHT processing, and then transferred to the atmospheric section 10 via the load lock module 20b.

[0030] Two stages 63a, 63b for mounting two wafers W side by side in the horizontal direction are provided inside the substrate processing module 61. The substrate processing module 61 performs, for example, COR processing on the two wafers W simultaneously by mounting the wafers W side by side on the stages 63a, 63b. Note that the substrate processing module 61 is connected to an air supply unit (not shown) for supplying a processing gas, a purge gas, etc., and an exhaust unit (not shown) for discharging the gas.

[0031] The substrate processing module 61 is connected to the transfer module 60 via a gate 65 provided with a gate valve 64. The gate valve 64 ensures airtightness between the transfer module 60 and the substrate processing module 61 while allowing communication between them.

[0032] Two stages 66a, 66b for mounting two wafers W side by side in the horizontal direction are provided inside the substrate processing module 62. The substrate processing module 62 simultaneously performs, for example, PHT processing on the two wafers W by mounting the wafers W side by side on the stages 66a, 66b. Note that the substrate processing module 62 is connected to an air supply section (not shown) for supplying gas and an exhaust section (not shown) for discharging gas.

[0033] The substrate processing module 62 is connected to the transfer module 60 via a gate 68 provided with a gate valve 67. The gate valve 67 ensures airtightness between the transfer module 60 and the substrate processing module 62 while allowing communication between them.

[0034] A wafer transfer mechanism 70 for transferring wafers W is provided inside the transfer module 60. The wafer transfer mechanism 70 has a transfer arm 71 (71a, 71b) that holds and moves two wafers W, a rotating table 72 that rotatably supports the transfer arms 71a, 71b, and a rotating platform 73 on which the rotating platform 72 is mounted. A guide rail 74 extending in the longitudinal direction of the transfer module 60 is provided inside the transfer module 60. The rotating platform 73 is provided on the guide rail 74, and the wafer transfer mechanism 70 is configured to be movable along the guide rail 74.

[0035] In the transfer module 60, the transfer arm 71a receives the two wafers W held in the upper stocker 21a and the lower stocker 22a in the load lock module 20a and transfers them to the substrate processing module 61. The transfer arm 71a also holds the two wafers W that have been subjected to, for example, COR processing, and transfers them to the substrate processing module 62. Furthermore, the transfer arm 71b holds the two wafers W that have been subjected to, for example, PHT processing, and transfers them to the load lock module 20b.

[0036] The above-described wafer processing apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 80. The control unit 80 is, for example, a computer equipped with a CPU, a memory, and the like, and has a program storage unit (not shown). The program storage unit stores a program for controlling the processing of the wafer W in the wafer processing apparatus 1. The program may control the transfer arm 71 of the wafer processing apparatus 1 and a sensor provided on the transfer arm 71. A correction calculation unit for control may also be provided. The program may be recorded in a computer-readable storage medium H and installed from the storage medium H to the control unit 80. The storage medium H may be temporary or non-temporary.

[0037] <Transport arm configuration> 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the transfer arm 71. As shown in FIG. 2, the transfer arm 71a has a first arm 75a having one end rotatably connected to the rotating table 72, a second arm 76a having one end rotatably connected to the other end of the first arm 75a, and a third arm 77a having one end rotatably connected to the other end of the second arm 76a. A multi-stage effector 78a serving as a pick for holding the wafer W is connected to the other end of the third arm 77a. The multi-stage effector 78a is configured by stacking a plurality of effectors in a multi-stage manner, and the number of stages is arbitrary, and may be, for example, a two-stage type, in which case it may be configured of an upper stage effector 78a-1 and a lower stage effector 78a-2.

[0038] The transfer arm 71b has a first arm 75b having one end rotatably connected to the rotating table 72, a second arm 76b having one end rotatably connected to the other end of the first arm 75b, and a third arm 77b rotatably connected to the other end of the second arm 76b. A multi-stage effector 78b serving as a pick for holding the wafer W is connected to the other end of the third arm 77b. The multi-stage effector 78b is configured by stacking a plurality of effectors in a multi-stage manner, and the number of stages is arbitrary, and may be, for example, a two-stage type, in which case it may be configured of an upper stage effector 78b-1 and a lower stage effector 78b-2.

[0039] 3 is a schematic plan view showing an example of the configuration of the multi-stage effector 78a (78a-1, 78a-2) and 78b (78b-1, 78b-2) during alignment, and shows the upper-stage effector 78b-1 in a plan view as a representative of the effectors of each of the transfer arms 71a and 71b. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper-stage effector 78b-1 includes claws 90 and 91 that are bifurcated with respect to the connection position with the third arm 77a. A sensor 100 is attached to the tip of at least one of the claws 90 (and / or 91).

[0040] The sensor 100 may be, for example, a photoelectric sensor that measures distance by irradiating a target with a laser beam and detecting the reflected light. The photoelectric sensor 100 may be configured to be rotatable 360° around the axis (ZY plane direction) of the extension direction of the transport arm 71. That is, the sensor 100 may be configured to be able to irradiate laser light in all three dimensional directions in accordance with the extension of the transport arm 71. When the transport arm 71 is inserted into a processing module such as the substrate processing module 61 or the substrate processing module 62, the sensor 100 can measure the distance to members such as the substrate support (stage), plate member (gas supply plate), and sidewall of each processing module. The sensor 100 can also measure the shapes of various members such as the outer shape of the substrate support and the outer shape of the plate member. That is, by scanning members such as the substrate support, plate member, and sidewall with a laser, the height position, center position, and even the spatial center position of the processing space formed in the processing module can be identified. Additionally, the plate member in each processing module may include an upper electrode assembly.

[0041] The sensor 100 may be detachably configured. That is, the sensor 100 may be attached to the effector during alignment and detached during substrate processing. In the configuration according to the present embodiment, it is preferable that at least one sensor 100 is attached to each of the multi-stage effectors 78a and 78b. In the multi-stage effectors 78a and 78b, the sensor 100 may be attached to either one of the upper and lower stage effectors. The attachment position of the sensor 100 in the multi-stage effectors 78a and 78b is arbitrary and is not limited to the illustrated position. For example, it may be a position such as the base of the claw portion 90 (and / or 91). However, it is required to specify in advance the relationship between the center position of the wafer W when held by the multi-stage effectors 78a and 78b and the attachment position of the sensor 100.

[0042] <Alignment method in processing module> A transfer arm 71 of a wafer transfer mechanism 70 that is provided inside the transfer module 60 and transfers a wafer W is inserted into each processing module such as the substrate processing module 61 and the substrate processing module 62. The transfer arm 71 is inserted in various cases, such as when holding a wafer W and performing substrate processing in each processing module, or when holding a dummy wafer and aligning the transfer arm 71.

[0043] 4 and 5 are schematic explanatory diagrams of a method for aligning a processing module, and show a state in which a transfer arm 71 is inserted from the transfer module 60 of the wafer processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment into each processing module, such as the substrate processing module 61 and the substrate processing module 62. Note that Fig. 4 shows an XZ cross-sectional view of the case in which the transfer arm 71 is inserted into the substrate processing module 61 as an example, and Fig. 5 shows a YZ cross-sectional view.

[0044] 4 and 5, the substrate processing module 61 includes a processing chamber 112, which includes a sidewall portion 113 constituting the inner surface of the processing chamber 112. A stage 63a (63b) serving as a substrate support portion is provided at the lower inside of the processing chamber 112. A plate member 110 for supplying gas, for example, is disposed above the stage 63a (63b). In a processing space U surrounded by the stage 63a (63b), the plate member 110, and the sidewall portion 113, a wafer W is subjected to, for example, COR processing.

[0045] When aligning the transfer arm 71, first, the transfer module 60 and the substrate processing module 61 are set under a reduced pressure atmosphere. At that time, a processing gas for, for example, COR processing may be supplied to the processing space U.

[0046] Next, the transfer arm 71 is moved in the X-axis direction (left and right direction in the figure) to move the position of the sensor 100, and laser scanning is performed while rotating the sensor 100 in the YZ directions (Z radial directions) as shown by the arrows in Figure 6. This measures the distances between the sensor 100 and the stage 63a (63b), the plate member 110, and the side wall portion 113, and measures the outer shapes of each member.

[0047] Then, based on the measured data, the transfer arm 71 is aligned. The alignment is effective for any teaching position, and for example, the optimum position coordinates of the transfer arm 71 are calculated for the processing space U in which the desired processing is performed on the wafer W. Specifically, the corrected position in the XY plane is calculated from the relationship between the center of the stage 63a (63b) in the XY plane and the center of the plate member 110 in the XY plane. In addition, the intermediate position between the stage and the plate member is calculated as the corrected position in the Z-axis direction. Then, for example, the ideal center position coordinates of the wafer W are calculated from the relationship between the center position of the transfer arm 71 and the center position of the held wafer W. The optimum position (position P in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5) derived in this way is calculated as the ideal center position of the wafer W.

[0048] In this manner, for example, the ideal central position coordinates of the wafer W with respect to the processing space U are calculated for each processing module such as the substrate processing module 61 and the substrate processing module 62, and the transfer arm 71 is guided.

[0049] The above-described method for aligning the transfer arm 71 may be implemented as an automatic teaching method under automatic control, that is, may be implemented automatically under the control of the control unit 80 provided in the wafer processing apparatus 1.

[0050] The above alignment method may be performed under the same conditions as those for substrate processing in each processing module, or under different conditions. For example, alignment of the transfer arm 71 may be performed with the chamber of each processing module open to the atmosphere.

[0051] Furthermore, a substrate support such as stage 63a (63b) provided in each processing module may be provided with a driving mechanism (not shown) and configured to be movable in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction in FIGS. 4 and 5) by driving the substrate support. By moving the substrate support, the positional relationship between the plate member 110 and the substrate support can be adjusted. The above-mentioned method of aligning the transfer arm 71, which can be performed at any position in three-dimensional space, is also effective for such a configuration.

[0052] <Effects of the technology disclosed herein> As described above, in the transfer arm 71 of the wafer transfer mechanism 70 provided in the wafer processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, the distances between the sensor 100 and the stage 63a (63b), the plate member 110, and the sidewall 113 are measured, and alignment is performed based on the measured data. This allows the transfer arm 71 to be aligned to any position in three-dimensional space in the processing chamber of each processing module, such as the substrate processing module 61 or the substrate processing module 62. That is, the transfer arm 71 holding the wafer W can be guided to any position in three-dimensional space in the processing chamber, and the wafer W can be placed at a desired position.

[0053] As in the wafer processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment, a plurality of processing modules, such as the substrate processing module 61 and the substrate processing module 62, are generally provided. Errors associated with the assembly of components and errors in process conditions associated with the mounting of other components occur for each processing module and chamber. Specifically, the displacement of the height of the stage 63a (63b), the displacement of the height of the plate member 110, the displacement of the center position of the plate member 110, etc., may become assembly errors or errors due to the mounting of other components, which may cause process differences or an increase in the process startup period. According to the alignment method described in this embodiment, the transfer arm 71 is aligned with an arbitrary position in a three-dimensional space in the processing chamber of each processing module, thereby solving such problems.

[0054] Moreover, the alignment method described in this embodiment can be automatically performed under conditions that are substantially the same as the process conditions of the wafer processing apparatus 1. In other words, it is no longer necessary to open the wafer processing apparatus 1 to the atmosphere and perform alignment by an operator, which improves alignment accuracy and improves workability.

[0055] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative and not restrictive in all respects. The above-described embodiments may be omitted, substituted, or modified in various forms without departing from the scope and spirit of the appended claims. For example, the components of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. From such an arbitrary combination, the actions and effects of each of the components in the combination can be obtained as a matter of course, and other actions and effects that are obvious to a person skilled in the art from the description of this specification can be obtained.

[0056] In addition, the effects described in this specification are merely explanatory or exemplary and are not limiting. In other words, the technology according to the present disclosure may achieve other effects that are apparent to a person skilled in the art from the description of this specification in addition to or in place of the above effects.

[0057] For example, in the above embodiment, the wafer processing apparatus 1 is described as including processing modules for performing COR processing, PHT processing, cleaning processing, and aligner processing on the wafer W, and the substrate processing module 61 and the substrate processing module 62 are illustrated as having two wafers W arranged horizontally, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, a so-called multi-wafer configuration in which three or more wafers W are arranged horizontally may also be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1. Wafer Processing Equipment 61 Substrate Processing Module 62 Substrate Processing Module Stages 63a and 63b Stages 66a and 66b 71 Transport Arm 100 Sensors 110 Plate member 113 Side wall U Processing Space W wafer

Claims

1. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, a transfer module for transferring the substrate therein; a transfer arm disposed inside the transfer module and including at least one holding arm for holding the substrate; a processing module connected to the transfer module and including a processing chamber for processing the substrate therein; The processing chamber includes a substrate support having a support surface for the substrate; a plate member disposed above the substrate support; a sidewall portion that constitutes an inner surface of the processing chamber; a processing space is formed in the processing chamber, the processing space being surrounded by the substrate support, the plate member, and the sidewall; The transfer arm has a sensor that aligns the transfer arm based on distances between the transfer arm and the substrate support, the plate member, and the sidewall in the processing space.

2. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is a photoelectric sensor configured to be freely rotatable about an axis that is the extension direction of the transport arm, scans the inside of the processing chamber, and measures the distance between the substrate support portion, the plate member, and the side wall portion.

3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate support part is configured to be movable vertically inside the processing chamber.

4. A method for aligning a transport arm that transports a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus, comprising the steps of: The substrate processing apparatus includes a transfer module for transferring the substrate therein; a transfer arm disposed inside the transfer module and including at least one holding arm for holding the substrate; a processing module connected to the transfer module and including a processing chamber for processing the substrate therein; The processing chamber includes a substrate support having a support surface for the substrate; a plate member disposed above the substrate support; a sidewall portion that constitutes an inner surface of the processing chamber; a processing space is formed in the processing chamber, the processing space being surrounded by the substrate support, the plate member, and the sidewall; The method for aligning a transfer arm, wherein the transfer arm has a sensor that aligns the transfer arm based on distances between the substrate support portion, the plate member, and the sidewall portion in the processing space.

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